


Evidence

by orphan_account



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: F/M, Vigilante!Patch, detective!diego
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-25
Updated: 2019-07-25
Packaged: 2020-07-19 09:31:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19971838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Eudora breaks into the police station while injured, Diego fixes her up.





	Evidence

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at a longer fic rather than a short snippet. Hopefully you enjoy it as much as I do. Happy reading!

Diego was working late, filling out some stupid paperwork his partner couldn’t be bothered to do. “The crime was stealing.” He grumbled to himself, scribbling his signature onto the appropriate line. “By a minor, how hard is it-“ He stopped, ears straining at the sound of scuffling footsteps coming from the closed evidence room. He slowly lowered his pen onto his desk and stood up, keeping his noise level to a minimum. He brought his hand to the hilt of his gun as he crept closer, pausing when there was a loud crash followed by a string of curses. He knew that voice, he swore he knew that voice. 

Hand still on his gun he closed the distance between him and the door and set his hand on the knob. He slowly turned it and pushed the door open, revealing rows of shelves. The shuffling and muttering stopped abruptly and before he could make any threats someone slammed into his side. He was knocked to the ground and landed painfully, ending up on his stomach. Whoever had tackled him made quick work of wrenching his arm behind his back and pressing his face into the concrete. “Breaking and entering is illegal, let alone into a police station.” He bit out, struggling to get free of the tight hold. The weight on top of him seemed to increase. 

“Diego? I thought you were the chief, you have the same build you know.” _Of fucking course._

“Get the hell off of me Patch.” She let all of her weight fall onto him for a second before finally releasing him. He flipped over onto his back, sliding away before standing up. She stayed on the ground, grinning up at him. “What are you doing?”

“What do you think? I’m gathering evidence.” He glared and rolled his shoulders, easing the pain. 

“You can go to jail for this. I can arrest you right here, right now.” Her smile widened at that and she tilted her head, catching the moonlight streaming in through the open window. Diego thought he caught sight of blood covering her teeth and sliding down her chin. 

“But you haven’t.” Her smug tone wasn’t missed by Diego and he straightened his stance, crossing his arms. She stood up, using the wall to keep her balance. One arm was wrapped across her stomach, gripping her side tightly. “The file I need is one from two thousand eleven, On some guy named Erik Jempson.” 

“I’m not helping you steal from my own police station, Patch.” 

“Okay, then you can watch while I do it.” She pushed herself off the wall and staggered forward, steps stuttered and breathing labored. 

“You’re hurt.” Diego pointed out, following behind her to a row of dusty boxes.

“Nope.” She reached up with her free hand, tugging on a box before Diego could protest. It slid off the shelf and she fell back, landing against the shelves behind her with a painful sounding thud. The box dropped out of her hands and it’s contents spread across the floor. 

“Cut the crap and tell me what happened.” Diego said, stepping over the mess to reach her and helping her lower to the ground. He grabbed her hand and pulled it away from her side, hissing at the sight of a stab wound gushing blood. 

“Thieves almost got me.” She mumbled, teeth gritted against the sting of the air. “I got away, I’m fine.” 

“You’re glassy eyed and bleeding out. Now shut up and let me help you.” Diego pressed her hand back over the wound, standing up. “I’m going to get the first aid kit, don’t move or I swear I’ll arrest your ass.” He pointed a stern finger at her before hurrying from the room. As he grabbed the first aid kit he frowned at one of the surveillance cameras they had mounted on the wall and made a mental reminder to erase the footage later. 

By the time he got back Eudora had her head hanging down, blinking slowly as she struggled to stay awake. Diego ignored the way that made his heart skip as he kneeled down in front of her. A string of blood dripped from her mouth and he grabbed her chin between his fingers, forcing her to look at him. 

“Eyes on me Patch. What’s today?” He flipped open the kit’s lid with his free hand, grabbing rubbing alcohol, a cloth, some water, and a needle and thread. 

“November 18th?” Eudora’s words were already slurring together and he had to let her head drop again to use both hands. He grabbed the hand that was meant to be putting pressure on the wound and moved it gently to the side, lifting her shirt so he could have access to the cut. 

“Good, what year?” He dumped some of the water onto the cloth, wincing in sympathy as he started to clean her side. “They got you pretty good.” 

“Two thousand nineteen?” 

“Yes, what’s your name?” He crouched lower to see her face, a strand of hair had gotten loose from her ponytail and he tucked it behind her ear. Her eyes had closed and he felt panic rise up in his chest. “H-hey, stay with me. Eyes open. What’s your name?” He tosses the bloodied rag aside, grabbing a new one and soaking this one in rubbing alcohol instead. 

“Eudora Patch.” Her words were getting softer but much to Diego’s relief she managed to force her eyes open. “You stuttered.” She pointed out, attempting to give a small laugh which quickly turned into a wet cough. When she calmed down she spoke again. “You care about me.” 

Diego’s cheeks were burning as he moved on, hastily ignoring the accusation. “What’s my name?” He threaded the needle as fast as he could with his shaking hands. “This m-might sting a little.” 

“You’re pale.” She pointed out, not looking at his hands but studying his face instead. He tried not to look at his hands either, the needle making him queasy as he started tugging it through her skin.

“What’s my name?” He asked again. She ignored him, voice still soft and words still messy as she started a story. 

“The first time we met was five years ago. You were just starting out in the academy and you were nervous as all hell when you got called to your first crime scene.” He glanced up at her, eyebrows pinched together, unsure of where this was going. “It was a robbery gone bad. A robbery turned into a homicide. I was there questioning witnesses and when you asked me for a badge of some kind I couldn’t give you one.” 

She winced when he adjusted the needle slightly but didn’t stop speaking. “You of course, should have arrested me. It would’ve gotten you in good too. An arrest on your first job? In the first few hours of the crime? Unheard of. But you didn’t.” There was a long pause then while he finished off the stitches, tied the thread, and cut the string. For a minute he thought she finally passed out until she barely whispered out her question. “Why not?” 

“Why not what?” He wiped around the wound with water one last time before placing a bandage over it. He sat back, letting her shirt fall and leaning against the shelves behind him. They were facing each other now, Eudora’s legs out in front of her, Diego’s legs drawn halfway up to his chest. She was still watching him, still studying his face. 

“Why didn’t you arrest me?” He pressed his lips together. He knew this answer by heart. Had spent years waiting for her to ask it. 

“Like you said, I was nervous as all hell. You were just starting out too you know, just trying to help. I think it was the only way you knew how to help. The only way you could actually kill the bad guys without getting in trouble.” Now she was looking away and he was studying her. “I know what it’s like to be angry all the time. To want nothing more than to beat someone terrible into oblivion and maybe let someone not so terrible beat you into oblivion.”

He slid forward, reaching out to grab her hands. “I should have never let you go this far down this path.” That was the breaking point. She recoiled, pulling her hands to her chest and attempting to stand up. 

“That wasn’t your choice.” He stood, lifting her to her feet and stepping back when she glared at him. “I didn’t go down any roads I didn’t want to. I don’t need some hero cop saving my ass. Or pretending to care about me.” She swiped the file she needed off the shelf and tucked it into her coat. “Don’t think I owe you one.” 

She moved away from him, limping towards the door. He knew she would pass his desk, knew she’d stop to look at his current case. He knew he should stop her too but he didn’t. For the same reason he didn’t all those years ago. She was a good person. A good person who _did_ need saving. “Eudora?” She stopped, back still to him, but listening. “Be careful.”

“You too Diego.” She said softly. And then she was gone. Diego gave her a few moments to get out of the station before stooping down and cleaning up the rest of the mess. He locked the door, deleted the tapes, and sat back down at his desk. Sure enough the file for his latest case was on top- right next to an older file from evidence. There was a sticky note taped to the corner of it. A slow grin spread across his face as he read it. 

_Look on page three, you’ll find something you missed. See you around Detective._

  
  
  



End file.
